Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was in a New York jail Saturday, hours after American special forces seized and flew him out of his country — which Donald Trump said would come under effective US control.
A US government plane carrying Maduro landed at a military base shortly after nightfall, and he was transported by helicopter to New York City.
The White House posted video on X of Maduro, handcuffed and in sandals, escorted by federal agents through a US Drug Enforcement Administration facility in New York.
Maduro and his wife are to be arraigned at an unspecified date before a judge in New York. They have been charged with “narco-terrorism,” importing tons of cocaine into the United States, and possession of illegal weapons.
Trump said he was “designating people” from his cabinet to be in charge in Venezuela but gave no further details. Trump indicated US involvement is likely for the long haul.
“We’re going to stay until such time as the proper transition can take place,” he said.
“We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies… go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure,” he said. “We’ll be selling large amounts of oil.” (AFP)
